This has been a staple at my family Christmas gatherings, since long before I was born.
When my dad made it, he would make one huge Calzone….1/2 sweet and 1/2 hot. You could tell which side was which before you even cut into it, because he would poke little holes in the shape of an “H” and a “S” into the top of the dough before baking it.

Keep in mind that this will make a massive calzone that will feed a lot of people.
We usually serve it as one of the dishes on Christmas Eve.
You can cut the recipe in 1/2 to make it smaller.

Also pictured below that beautiful calzone is my great grandmother’s dough rolling stick.

Mix meat, fennel seeds, (hot pepper), salt & pepper and fry until pink color is gone from meat.
Let that cool.
In a large bowl, mix Ricotta, eggs, parsley, Romano cheese, salt & pepper.
When meat has cooled, combine meat mixture with cheese mixture.
Roll out bottom crust to fit large sheet pan (sprinkle bottom of pan with corn meal to prevent dough from sticking).
Brush inside of bottom crust with egg whites before filling to prevent pizza from being soggy. (Save egg yolks!)
Fill bottom crust with cheese/meat mixture. Cover with top crust and close edges.
Prick entire top of pizza with fork to let steam out when cooking or it will explode in your oven.
Brush top and sides with egg yolks.
Bake at 375 degrees until done – Approx. 45 min. to 1 hour (depending on oven)
Remove from pan immediately and cool on rack.

TIP: DO NOT COOL IN THE FRIDGE. The calzone will become soggy.

This can be served warm or cold.

When my sister Judi was making it last Christmas eve, she called and asked for the recipe that I had. I sent it to her and I must admit that her Calzone turned out to be the best I’ve ever tasted. You can check it out here: Calzone